Southwest Minnesota State outscored Wayne State 40-20 in the second half as the host Mustangs downed the Wildcats 85-66 in Northern Sun Conference South Division women's basketball Saturday evening at the R/A Facility in Marshall, Minnesota.  SMSU moves to 17-10 and 14-8 in the league while WSC falls to 11-15 and 7-15 in NSIC games.
            The game was a tale of two halves for the Wildcats as WSC shot a sizzling 63 percent in the first half (19-30) to hold a slim 46-45 advantage at intermission.  SMSU shot nearly as impressive making 18 of 33 shots for 54.5 percent.
            WSC faced a pair of seven-point deficits in the opening quarter at 17-10 and 19-12, but the Wildcats closed the first quarter with the final eight points and held a 20-19 lead after one quarter.
            The 'Cats used baskets by Meg Reitz and Annie Guntzel to open the second quarter, taking their biggest lead of the game at 24-19. 
            The fast-paced second quarter saw WSC make 11 of 14 shots, but the 'Cats could not separate themselves from SMSU as the Mustangs connected ono 10 of 18 shots as both teams score 26 points in the quarter resulting in a high-scoring 46-45 lead for the Wildcats at intermission.
            The Mustangs continued their strong shooting in the second half while Wayne State went cold from the floor.
            SMSU outscored WSC 23-10 in the third quarter as the 'Cats hit just 4 of 14 shots as the Mustangs built a 68-56 lead.
            Wayne State trailed by double figures the remainder of the game as the Mustangs held a 17-10 scoring advantage in the final stanza to finish with the 85-66 victory.
            Lauren Zacharias led Wayne State with 25 points, making 11 of 16 shots from the field.  Senior Kassidy Pingel also hit double figures with 11.
            Wayne State shot 26 of 54 for 48 percent, going 5 of 17 behind the arc and 9 for 10 at the line.
            Southwest Minnesota State had five players in double figures led by Sam Wall with 21.  Bri Stoltzman added 18 and Hannah Parsley scored 14.
            The Mustangs made 33 of 64 shots for 51.6 percent, hitting 11 of 32 behind the arc to go with 8 of 12 at the charity stripe.
            SMSU won the rebounding contest 33-26 while the Mustangs held a 17-3 edge in points off turnovers.
            Wayne State enters the NSIC Tournament as the South #5 seed (11-15, 7-15 NSIC) and will travel to the University of Mary Wednesday evening for a 6 p.m. first round game.  The Marauders are the North #4 seed with records of 13-12 and 12-10 in the NSIC.